Saturday, June 21, 2008

Kosova & Canada do Punch & Judy

Submitted by our friend and colleague, Jeton Neziraj, currently the Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Kosova.Punch and Judy Murder Love is described by the playwrights as "a cartoon for adults in 12 episodes". The famous traditional puppet characters of Punch & Judy are brought to life in modern times, facing all the problems and challenges of a modern relationship between two psychopaths. Punch is an insecure Austrian who behaves like Hitler; Judy is a neurotic Hungarian porn star. The clever but lazy Arlecchino is their not-so-willing servant in trying to bridge the communication gap that exists between languages and cultures.

The play takes place in 12 separate "episodes" which, like cartoons, feature the same characters in different eras and circumstances. The language is Albanian mixed with nonsense Hungarian, German, and Italian. Playwright Jeton Neziraj and playwright/director Michael Devine worked with actors in 2 countries, Canada and Kosova, to develop the improvisational structure of the play. A little bit naughty, a little bit provocative, and extremely silly, Punch and Judy Murder Love is a play about ethno-centrism and the war between men and women, otherwise known as love.

Punch and Judy Murder Love is designed and directed by Michael Devine and features Ernest Malazogu (Punch), Alban Morina (Arlecchino), and Xhejlane Terbunja (Judy). It premieres at the Prizren Professional Theatre on June 21, 2008.